Destinations › Colombia › Cartagena › Scams
Cartagena, Colombia
18 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Cartagena, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Bills in the Getsemaní bar streets carrying rounds that were not ordered, with the total defended by staff gathering at the table.
Unofficial drivers soliciting arriving passengers at the airport and the cruise terminal, quoting in dollars at several times the published zone fare.
Men presenting as plain-clothes police near the walled city asking to inspect a wallet for counterfeit notes or drugs, and removing cash during the count.
A stranger appearing at the cash machine offering to help with a screen in an unfamiliar language, standing close enough to read the PIN. Machines on the street are also fitted with reader overlays; those inside bank branches are not.
Dating-app matches leading to drugging and robbery, or to a bar where the bill is inflated and departure obstructed.
Beach vending on Playa Blanca and Bocagrande where massages, food and drinks are delivered unrequested and then charged at inflated rates.
Taxis are unmetered and run on published zones; fares several times the going rate are quoted to arrivals and to anyone leaving the walled city.
Glass and synthetic stones sold as Colombian emeralds by street and hotel-lobby dealers with meaningless certificates.
Island and Playa Blanca boat trips sold on the street that add compulsory island fees, lunch and park charges once the group has arrived and cannot leave.
Bracelets, hats and sweets placed on a visitor as a gift inside the walled city, with insistent payment demanded once accepted.
Scooter and car hire invoiced on return for damage that was present at pickup, with the deposit or a held document used to force payment.
Island day trips paid for in advance that run with a smaller and more crowded boat than the one sold, skipping the beaches the sale was built on.
Drivers and street guides steering visitors to emerald and jewellery shops that pay them per head, offered as the trustworthy place to buy rather than a paid referral.
Phone snatching on the walls at sunset and around the Getsemaní bar streets at night.
Restaurant bills carrying unordered items and cover charges in the walled city and Getsemaní.
Payment demanded after a photograph of a palenquera fruit seller, with the amount named only afterwards.
Collectors with laminated documentation and a donation book working the walled-city gates and restaurant terraces.
Men attaching themselves to visitors inside the walled city, narrating the churches and squares unasked, then presenting a fee once the walk is over.
